Just 33 games into Willson Contreras' tenure with the St. Louis Cardinals, the team intends to remove him from the regular catching rotation and use him primarily at designated hitter and in the outfield.
Contreras, who joined the Cardinals on a five-year, $87.5 million contract as a free agent in December, will start a regular stint at designated hitter with Saturday's game against the Detroit Tigers, manager Oliver Marmol told reporters.
Andrew Knizner will serve as the Cardinals' primary catcher over the next few weeks, with Tres Barrera -- who was called up from Triple-A Memphis on Saturday -- also getting some opportunities.